Matisse’s explosive finale and a new chapter for Hong Kong? Plus, Schiaparelli and Dalí

The Grand Palais in Paris this week unveiled an enormous exhibition focusing on the final 13 years of Henri Matisse’s life and work, a project conceived by the Centre Pompidou. The show includes abundant examples of the celebrated gouache cut-outs, his works for the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, and his final paintings, drawings, and illustrated books, among much else. Ben Luke interviews the exhibition’s curator, the Centre Pompidou’s Claudine Grammont, in Paris. The latest edition of Art Basel Hong Kong opened this week amid much uncertainty about the Hong Kong art world after a prolonged downturn in the Chinese economy. Yet, some commentators are suggesting that Hong Kong has turned a corner. The Art Newspaper’s chief contributing editor, Gareth Harris, has been in Hong Kong this week and tells us what he discovered. And for this episode’s Work of the Week, we focus on a related painting and dress. The painting is Salvador Dalí’s Necrophiliac Spring (1936), which was owned by the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli; the dress is the Tears Dress with Veil, from Schiaparelli’s Circus Collection of 1938, made with a fabric designed by Dalí. The painting and the garment are in Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which opens this weekend, and Ben talks to Rosalind McKeever, one of the three curators of the exhibition, about the pairing.

Matisse 1941-1954, Grand Palais, Paris, until 26 July. You can read more on the show, and get the full details on a wealth of Matisse shows opening in various museums and galleries in 2026, on the website or app.

Art Basel Hong Kong continues until Sunday, 29 March.

Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 28 March-8 November

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